Plea deal reached in domestic incident

Thursday

Dec 13, 2012 at 12:01 AM

CHEBOYGAN — An Inverness Township woman has accepted a prosecutor’s plea agreement in connection with a family dispute that culminated in shots being fired in a Mullett Lake home.Elizabeth Marie Siudara, 58, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a 2-year maximum count of attempted felonious assault.

By MIKE FORNES

By MIKE FORNESmike@cheboygantribune.com

CHEBOYGAN — An Inverness Township woman has accepted a prosecutor’s plea agreement in connection with a family dispute that culminated in shots being fired in a Mullett Lake home.Elizabeth Marie Siudara, 58, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a 2-year maximum count of attempted felonious assault. The charge could be handled by the court as a felony or termed a high court misdemeanor, according to Cheboygan County Prosecutor Daryl Vizina.“Mrs. Siudara has agreed to serving no up-front jail time if she complies with conditions set forth in the plea agreement,” Vizina said Wednesday. “She must seek a psychological evaluation and follow certain other recommendations.”Four other charges were dropped as part of the agreement, including assault with a dangerous weapon, two 90-day misdemeanor charges involving possession of a firearm while under the influence and reckless use of a firearm. Siudara was arrested in September by Cheboygan County Sheriff’s deputies after they responded to a 911 complaint by Siudara of a man with a gun at the residence. A preliminary investigation revealed the man was Siudara’s son, who told deputies he had entered a locked garage door at the residence with his own key only to be confronted in a breezeway connecting the garage to the residence by his mother, who he said was brandishing .22 caliber Marlin rifle. The son told deputies he locked the garage door to contain his mother after a disagreement and left to telephone his father, only to then hear several gunshots when his mother allegedly fired the rifle in an attempt to break out glass in the breezeway door to free herself. Deputies questioned the mother and believed her to be intoxicated, court records state.“I think it’s a good resolution,” Vizina said. “There has to be accountability anytime a firearm is involved, and especially when it is discharged.”The plea agreement cancels a trial that had been scheduled for later this month. Sentencing will be set for January 2013.